RH Gallery is pleased to present Collapse\, curated by gallery ar
tist Micah Ganske. Collapse draws inspiration from Jared Di
amond’s book\, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. In
this text\, Diamond hypothesizes the triggers and trajectories leading to
the fall of a civilization and concludes that the true cause of social coll
apse relies on a failure to adapt. Diamond states\, “Societies die from sui
cide\, not by murder.” Although somewhat bleak\, this view offers a beacon
of hope: every individual has the ability to change. Ganske’s exhibition se
eks to reveal the symptoms of collapse while simultaneously envisioning pos
sible alternatives. Collapse showcases a group of contemporary artists whos
e work reflect Diamond’s paradigm.

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In his book\, Diamond references the
autoimmunity of the Easter Island culture. Easter Islanders decimated thei
r land through the production of the renowned stone Moai heads. Heeseop Yoo
n’s work illustrates a portrayal of the Moai head within a contemporary set
ting. In drawings and wall installations\, Yoon portrays mass collections o
f clutter including discarded technology\, abandoned appliances\, and other
obsolete remnants of the past. These works depict hoards of garbage and th
e landfills where they will inevitably decay to become testaments to our cu
lture.

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An examination of the history of the relationship between humans
and the earth does not reveal a noble savage at one with nature. On the con
trary\, our inability to visualize and plan for the long-term is evident in
the widespread disappearance of mega-fauna from fossil record after our ar
rival. The drawings of Maximilian Toth portray a lack of foresight by depic
ting youth engaged in drunken mass orgies\, aggressive behavior and general
mischief with a lack of acknowledgment for consequences. The revelers and
victims in Toth’s work represent more than an escape from reality\; they st
and as symbols of our culture. Their approaching regret echoes the specter
ofself-destruction looming ov
er our society.

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The speed at which science and technology has accelerat
ed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is staggering. Our innovatio
ns have saved lives while at the same time\, they constantly push limits\,
resulting at times in environmental catastrophes. Maria Kozak’s paintings o
f designer pets in the wild reference the rift between nature and scientifi
c “innovation.”

The title translates i
n English to “No Further Beyond”: a Latin term commonly used by early carto
graphers meaning “to delineate borders of unexplored territories.” This gru
esome display of death and the mysterious maps carved into the animal’s bon
es reflect the profound loss inherent in the ubiquitous disconnect between
people and nature in our society.

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Diana Al-Hadid’s oeuvre is a kind of h
aunted architecture incorporating classical and contemporary references sim
ultaneously yet in turns. The work contains the aura of a relic from the an
cient past while alluding to possible futures. Within her atemporal forms l
ie the roots of societal decay.A socio-cultural collapse often can be traced to the very foundations of
a society. Therefore\, avoiding total collapse requires a complete restruct
uring of its core mechanisms and communication systems. The dystopian paint
ings of Ian Davis represent a not-so-distant future in which a complete col
lapse has just barely been evaded.

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The congregations of cloned masses a
nd desolate landscapes recall an Orwellian society. Despite the bleak envir
onment\, people somehow continue to engage in rebuilding their communities.

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Colette Robbins depicts massive\, double-faced stone relics as monument
s to the relationships between two people. She envisions stone sculptures c
arved to depict loved ones and a future where they are unearthed: becoming
symbols of their culture. Robbins reminds us of the significance of these r
elics within our society.